When a pair of bald eagles wove a 5-foot nest of sticks on an isolated hillside in suburban Allegheny County in 2010, it was seen as a sort of environmental milestone -- nature's confirmation that the Pittsburgh region had cleaned up its act.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission confirmed that the first egg laid had hatched. About an hour later - both the female and male eagle could be seen in the nest with the downy eaglet, thanks to the webcam that is being operated by PixController for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

The 5 1/2-year-old female eagle will remain on top of the hatchling while she continues to incubate the other two eggs in the nest for the next several days, according to Pa. Game Commission Officer Gary Fujak.

"Generally, the first eaglet that hatches will have the best chance. The mortality rate can be as high as 50 percent within the first year," Fujak said.

But he adds, three eaglets in a bald eagles' nest in Crescent Township, Allegheny County survived last year.

The new eaglet is in the nest in the Hays section of Pittsburgh, near the Monongahela river. The Game Commission says the second egg laid in this nest could hatch in about three days, and the last egg could hatch three days after that.

Bald eagle pairs are active on two additional sites in Allegheny County.

More than 200 nest sites have been reported in the commonwealth.

Fujak said, "This is great. It is showing how adaptive wildlife is and how resilient they are."